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Westeros Blog: Photo of Malta Filming?


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Via the Rabbit, we have what may be the very first image from Game of Thrones filming in Malta:

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Posted by Flickr member bertiebears, he describes it as the set for another film, The Devil’s Double, being filmed in Mdina. He appears to be in error as that film has wrapped production and is, in any case, a story about Saddam Hussein’s double. This morning, aGame of Thrones extra said he was 100% certain that was an exterior shot being filmed for King’s Landing.

Compare the costuming of the horsemen to the gold cloak in the background of this screencap, and the costuming of the extras on foot to what’s seen here and here. We have to say, the costuming of the people on foot is a little baffling to us, as our first thought was that these may be Pentoshi. The clothing depicted here is extremely similar to Graeco-Roman costume of the ancient world, and seems markedly different from the glimpses had from the In Production behind the scenes video. But given that the extra in question has taken part in filming over a number of days, including the tourney that featured so many extras, we’ll take his word for it.

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The picture is confusing - the clothing and styles we've seen in the Tourney shots all look very Medieval to Renaissance European, however the clothing of these extras looks Greco-Roman, except for the horsemen. I think this is supposed to be Pentos and not King's Landing.

It would seem that these extras are off set/off camera at that particular moment, at least in the foreground. It looks like a procession scene is possibly being shot in the background with the litter and such. It looks to me like they might be "in Pentos," while the Gold Cloaks are actually waiting off-set for something else. I think they might just happen to be nearby for another shot being set up on another set close by, that represents King's Landing. Either that, or they are not actually Gold Cloaks...despite the fact that they seem to be wearing gold cloaks (anyway, I thought we had that confirmed from the other picture by someone, right?)

If some of these shots are being done by second units, it would explain why multiple sequences could be shot at the same time. Big crowd scenes and such could easily be second unit material, while first unit is dealing with the "close in" dramatic scenes, or action stuff.

Just my two cents, and a bit of guesswork.

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[...]

It looks to me like they might be "in Pentos," while the Gold Cloaks are actually waiting off-set for something else. I think they might just happen to be nearby for another shot being set up on another set close by, that represents King's Landing.

[...]

Hmmm... Thing is, every street and alley in Malta looks exactly like that. Everything is made from the same sandstone, quarried on the island, except perhaps from some modern buildings. But I suppose they could slap on some stucco here and there, or even use CGI, to make them look a little more distinct, if both Pentos and King's Landing scenes are indeed shot in Malta.

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I added more detail to the original post. Rimshot says the woman in the foreground is wearing exactly the same sort of peasant woman outfit he saw at the tourney.

There's no two ways about it. That woman specifically is wearing something that is simply without precedent in the Middle Ages.

This doesn't really matter, though, in the sense Westeros is not the Middle Ages. But a slightly more salient point is that usually there's some continuity between styles of clothing across social strata in the same area and period, but these very loose Graeco-Roman styles of garments don't really look very much like any of the women's garments we've seen on Cersei, Catelyn, Sansa, or Myrcella. So there's a sense of inconsistency.

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Take a look a the Sandor screencap I link above. Notice the white-bearded guy in red and white -- probably a septon -- and then look at the Malta picture. In the back there's a white-bearded man with red cloth over his torso and white sleeves. Think it's the same costume (but not the same extra). Think that seals it, for those who were still uncertain.

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I haven't really had a negative reaction to anything else in the production (not even the Baratheon guard extra costume picture from the pilot which sent so many into a tizz), but the image doesn't really make much sense. It looks like a couple of medieval horsemen riding past a bunch of extras from Rome. That the series is going in a different direction from the books as far as visual imagery, costuming and aesthetics and so on is fair enough, but this just looks like the series is being inconsistent with itself (medieval pomp and pagentry elsewhere, an ancient Greco-Roman look for the smallfolk).

Of course it's just one image and we may not be getting the full impact the production is looking for, but this, for me, looks like it could be the first misstep.

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Honestly, I would take any information from Rimshot with a grain of salt--he describes sucoats as "blankets" on the 'Winter is Coming' site. That he might mix up peasant gear between Westeros and the Free Cities isn't a big stretch.

I'd have to say (and hope) this is a scene from Pentos--not King's Landing.

This doesn't really matter, though, in the sense Westeros is not the Middle Ages. But a slightly more salient point is that usually there's some continuity between styles of clothing across social strata in the same area and period, but these very loose Graeco-Roman styles of garments don't really look very much like any of the women's garments we've seen on Cersei, Catelyn, Sansa, or Myrcella. So there's a sense of inconsistency.

Like Samurai Lannisters? :P

Edit--It's good to see some mail hauberks in the production.

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I've looked at the picture a few times now, and I have to say, the garb doesn't look nearly as Toga-like as it did on first glance. Most of the women appear to be wearing two layers of dress, which is much more medieval than roman, and the men mostly have sleeves. I think the look will work fine for peasantry, even beside the more 'medieval' royal clothing.

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Well the man who has his back to the camera doesn't look Graeco-Roman, so maybe the women are some sort of captives or whores who are being brought into Kings Landing hence the different clothing.

Just throwing this out there... but could they possibly be sparrows?

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